14 Signs of an Unhealthy Bearded Dragon

Bearded dragons are very robust creatures, but are still prone to health issues just like us humans. It is very important as their caregiver to pay attention to any signs of possible illness or disease. To help stay on top of your bearded dragon’s health, here are 14 signs of an unhealthy bearded dragon.

Bearded dragon owners may encounter special health needs of their pets from time to time. There are also times when an unhealthy bearded dragon may start showing signs or symptoms of a condition without you really knowing it. Unfortunately, an unhealthy bearded dragon can not tell us what is wrong.

It is very important to pay attention to tell-tale signs that something might be amiss. These signs could give clues as to any unhealthy conditions the bearded dragon is going through. There are times when it shows signs of an unhealthy state that it can be remedied by simply changing its habitat or diet. Some serious conditions may require a visit to a reptile veterinarian.

The following are fourteen signs of a possibly unhealthy bearded dragon.

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Eyes Appear Cloudy or Filmy

The eyes of a healthy bearded bearded dragon should be clear, bright and alert. Eyes that appear dull could simply be a shedding issue. If there is a discharge coming from the eyes it could be something more serious like an infection. Check to make sure a bearded dragon you intend to purchase always has clear, bright, and alert eyes.

Recommendations

If it’s a shedding issue, try giving the bearded dragon a bath in warm water. Let it soak for about 15 – 20 minutes to help loosen the skin. Use a small cup to gently pour water over the bearded dragon’s head to wet the head and face. Avoid getting water in the eyes or nostrils.

Additional Reading…

Recommended Shedding Products

Acts Very Lethargic

There are several reasons why a bearded dragon may seem “lazy” or lethargic. Insufficient diet, improper housing, internal parasites are all common issues that can result in a lethargic bearded dragon.

A common issue is low habitat temperatures. For instance, a young bearded dragon requires a basking area temperature of between 95°F to 110°F, with a cooler region of around 80°F to 90°F. Often low habitat temperatures coincide with loss of appetite.

When seasons begin to change from summer into fall and then into winter many bearded dragon may brumate, or hibernate. The bearded dragon’s appetite will decrease along with it’s activity levels. Most of the time this is normal and nothing to worry about. It’s still important to continue to offer food and water while maintaining proper temperatures and light cycles.

Recommendations

Continually monitor temperatures within the terrarium by using a high quality thermometer like a Zoo Med Thermometer/Hygrometer Dual Gauge. It is a good idea to use two gauges- one located in the basking area and the other located in the cooler area – so that you can check the complete temperature gradient throughout the terrarium. Adjust temperatures as needed by adding a larger or smaller wattage basking bulb depending on your needs. A mercury vapor bulb can be used to supply both radiant heat and UV radiation.

If temperatures are in the correct range for the age of your bearded dragon, and it’s not the right time of year for brumation to occur, and your bearded dragon is still acting lethargic you may need to seek the advice of a reptile veterinarian.

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Soft, Runny, or Foul Stool

Soft or runny stool could be a sign that your bearded dragon has a possible internal parasite or an inadequate diet. Feeding a bearded dragon lettuce can cause a runny stool and cause malnutrition. A yellow tinged urate (the end of the poop that is usually white) can be a sign of dehydration. Urates that are red or rusty-colored could be an indication of possible parasites.

A bearded dragon that is very stressed out could also have a runny stool or temporary diarrhea.

Recommendations

Feed the bearded dragon a proper diet and avoid feeding lettuce. Lettuce consists mainly of water and contains little nutritional value. It can also cause diarrhea, which leads to dehydration.

Internal parasites can come from feeder insects that are raised in unsanitary conditions. Make sure you are purchasing feeders that are kept properly. Don’t be afraid to ask your feeder supplier about their husbandry.

It is also important to keep your bearded dragon’s home clean and sanitary. Clean the entire terrarium and any decor at least once per month with a quality terrarium cleaner. Do not use household cleaners such as Windex or anything containing strong chemicals. Clean any spills or soiled areas as soon as possible. This will keep bacteria to a minimum.

It is very important to keep your bearded dragon hydrated. If the white part of the poop (the urate) has a yellow tint there could be a hydration issue. Mist your bearded dragon a couple times per day with clean, dechlorinated water. If using tap water treat the water with a water conditioner that removes chlorine, ammonia, heavy metals, and other chemicals. Zoo Med ReptiSafe is a great product. Lightly mist the bearded dragon and it will slowly lap the water off the end of the nose. Give the bearded dragon a bath in clean, dechlorinated water at least once a week. Baths not only help keep the bearded dragon hydrated, but also help facilitate shedding and can even help with light constipation or small impaction issues.

If your bearded dragon is new to its home, or recently moved around it could be stressed, causing temporary diarrhea. Allow some time for your bearded dragon to adjust, and provide a hide box so that he/she will have a bit of shelter for security.

If your bearded dragon has runny stool or sustained diarrhea have your veterinarian perform a fecal exam to find out the cause of the abnormal stool. Ask them to check for parasites and possible treatments.

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Swollen Limbs or Tail

Swollen limbs or tail could be a sign of a fractured or broken limb/tail. This could come from a fall or when multiple bearded dragons housed together get into a skirmish. Limbs or a tail that tend to break or fracture easily could be a sign of Metabolic Bone Disease. There could also be a bacterial infection, such as tail rot, that could cause swelling.

Recommendations

If your bearded dragon has a swollen limb or tail seek a qualified veterinarian immediately. The veterinarian can perform x-rays and other tests to determine exactly what’s causing the swelling and prescribe treatment.

If you suspect possible Metabolic Bone Disease, seek a qualified veterinarian. This is a life-threatening disease that should be treated immediately.

There are some steps you can take to help reduce the risk of Metabolic Bone Disease with your bearded dragon:

Prevent Metabolic Bone Disease

Loss of Appetite

Loss of appetite can be due to a variety of issues – everything from inadequate temperatures to stress. Unfortunately, our cute bearded dragons cannot talk to tell us what the problem is, so we must use our best judgement according to conditions.

Recommendations

Check the habitat temperatures to make sure they are in the proper ranges for the age of bearded dragon you have. If the temperatures are correct, then check to make sure adequate UV radiation is provided.

There are many things that can cause bearded dragon’s to become stressed. The most stressful times are when a new pet is first brought home, or when the terrarium setting drastically changes. Remember, bearded dragons have different personalities just like people, so each one will act differently. Some bearded dragons are not fazed one bit by change, others may freak out. If you have recently acquired a bearded dragon give it time to adjust and only disturb him/her when absolutely necessary. Do not leave live feeders in the terrarium overnight or for long periods of time as this can cause some stress.

If you have covered all the bases and your bearded dragon is still not eating well you should seek the advice of a reptile veterinarian as there could be other possible health issues such as impaction or Metabolic Bone Disease.

Provide Nutritious Live Insects

Mouth Hanging Open

A sign of Metabolic Bone Disease is a slack jaw. If the bearded dragon’s mouth is constantly open and has difficulty hanging onto food, it could be a sign of slack jaw. This condition should be seen by a reptile veterinarian immediately to be tested for Metabolic Bone Disease. The veterinarian can perform a blood test to evaluate calcium levels in the blood.

It can be very common for the bearded dragon to open its mouth while on the basking perch for short periods of time. This is a way to cool off while directly under the basking bulb. This behavior is very similar to the way a dog pants to cool off and completely normal.

Recommendations

If slack jaw is suspected seek a reptile veterinarian immediately. In the mean time, offer soft foods to the bearded dragon such as baby food or soft wax worms. Give him food that will be easily swallowed.

To help prevent slack jaw, or Metabolic Bone Disease, make sure you are providing adequate UV radiation. Use a mercury vapor bulb or fluorescent bulb specially designed for desert-dwelling reptiles. Supplement the diet by dusting food items with calcium powder.

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Inside of Mouth is Black or Discolored

A discolored, or blackened mouth could be the symptoms of mouth rot. Mouth rot is a bacterial infection that affects the mouth and gums of bearded dragons. It is typically caused by unsanitary conditions and low temperatures. Mouth rot must be treated by a reptile veterinarian.

Recommendations

Produce and keep a routine cleaning schedule. Clean the terrarium, all decor items, and food/water dishes regularly. Use a cleaning solution safe for reptiles such as Healthy Habitat.

Products To Help Prevent Mouth Rot

Discolored Stomach

If the stomach of your pet darkens, or becomes black, it could be due to stress. This can happen most commonly with bearded dragons that have recently been brought home, or changed habitats. Give it time to adjust to the new surroundings. Stress can also be caused by feeder insects left in the habitat overnight, or incorrect temperatures.

Recommendations

Attempt to reduce stress as much as possible by giving the bearded dragon a good hiding place. The ability to hide gives the bearded dragon a safe and secure feeling where they can get away. When introducing a bearded dragon to a new home, give them a week or two to become accustom to the new surroundings. Avoid contact with the bearded dragon except for regular feedings and cleaning. Gradually increase contact at a slow pace to avoid stressing the bearded dragon.

Always monitor temperatures to make sure they are not too low or too high. Temperatures that are not correct can cause undue stress for the reptile. Feeder insects that are left in the terrarium can crawl on and bite the bearded dragon causing a stressful situation. Always remove uneaten feeders after 15 – 20 minutes after feeding.

Products To Help Reduce Stress

Boney / Malnourished Appearance

A boney, malnourished appearance can be a direct sign that the bearded dragon is not eating correctly. This could be due to stress, improper temperatures, a lack of adequate UV lighting, or a sign of a more serious health condition.

Recommendations

Use a quality reptile thermometer to monitor terrarium temperatures. Vary the bearded dragon’s diet as much as possible to help stimulate feeding, and be sure to supplement food items with calcium powder.

Always supply adequate UV radiation exposure using a Repti Glo 10.0 fluorescent bulb or equivalent. Make sure the UV bulb you use if specifically for desert-dwelling reptiles.

If eating does not improve seek the advice of a qualified reptile veterinarian.

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Disfigured Tail or Limbs / Brittle Bones

Tail or limb disfigurement can be a sign of a broken bone resulting from a drop or impact of some type. Weak or brittle bones can be a sign of Metabolic Bone Disease. If you notice the end of the tail becoming black and dead-looking, it could be a bacterial infection called tail rot.

Recommendations

If a broken bone is suspected seek a veterinarian immediately for x-rays and diagnosis. The vet will also perform a blood test to check calcium levels. Gently use ice around the area of the suspected broken bone to help reduce swelling until you can get to the veterinarian.

Tail rot is a bacterial infection that causes the section of the tail to turn black and eventually fall off. If left untreated to infection will gradually move up the tail and enter the body leading to death. If the tail of the bearded dragon begins to turn black and feel softer to the touch seek a veterinarian for antibiotic treatment.

To help reduce the chances of possible tail rot following these steps:

Follow sanitary husbandry conditions. Clean the terrarium regularly with an anti-microbial cleaner that is safe for pets such as Healthy Habitat

Do not leave feeder insects in the terrarium for long periods of time or at night. Crickets will chew on the bearded dragon, especially the small end of the tail

Give the bearded dragon a warm bath at least once per week. This will help to keep the skin clean and supple

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Obesity

Bearded dragons in the wild are very active creatures. Captive-raised bearded dragons do not have the room typically to be as active as their wild counterparts. Less overall activity coupled with a poor diet can eventually lead to obesity.

Recommendations

The chances of obesity with adult bearded dragons can be reduced by offering a balanced diet of nutritious feeder insects and wholesome fruits and vegetables. Always gut-load feeder insects to increase nutrient content. Dust all food items with a good calcium powder before offering to your bearded dragon.

Limit insects that are high in fat content such as wax worms. Try to provide a little exercise for your bearded dragon at least once per week. Take the bearded dragon out of the terrarium and let him/her explore the room. You can even take your bearded dragon out for a short walk during warm weather.

Provide Nutritious Live Insects

Jerky / Shaky Behavior

There can be many reasons why your bearded dragon is showing jerky, or shaky behavior. The most common reason is due to calcium and vitamin D3 deficiencies. Bearded dragons need calcium for strong bones and vitamin D3 in order to absorb calcium.

A possible neurological disorder could also result in jerky, shaky behavior.

Recommendations

Always provide adequate UV lighting for a bearded dragon. Bearded dragons need UV radiation in order to produce vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 assists with the absorption of calcium in the blood stream to promote good skeletal development. UV radiation also helps to promote a healthy appetite and brain function.

Continued shaky, jerky behavior may need further examination from a veterinarian for complete diagnosis.

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Bloody / Damaged Snout

A bloody damaged-looking snout is most commonly caused by snout rubbing. This generally happens when a bearded dragon is kept in an enclosure that is too small for its size. As it searches for a way out of the enclosure it will rub it’s snout until it’s bloody and raw. This can be remedied by ensuring the bearded dragon’s enclosure is adequate and has a well-balanced and varied diet.

Interact with the bearded dragon by removing it from the habitat occasionally. Allow the bearded dragon to sit in your lap, or explore a safe room for 30 minutes to an hour a couple times per week. Enjoy a few fun activities with the bearded dragon while outside the terrarium. For example, take your bearded dragon out on walks with a special lizard leash.

Snout rubbing is also a possible sign of stress. Provide an appropriate hide box, and monitor terrarium temperatures.

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Sunken Eyes

Sunken eyes may be the result of a possible infection, or dehydration. Give the bearded dragon a bath in warm water, and allow to to lap up the clean, dechlorinated water. Always supply fresh, dechlorinated water daily. Be sure the water container is relatively shallow to prevent drowning, and always monitor the bearded dragon during baths.

Mist bearded dragon a couple times per day. Gently spritz water onto the bearded dragon’s head and it will lap up drips of water from its nose as you mist.

There can be many signs that point to an unhealthy, or unhappy bearded dragon. It’s always important to keep an eye on any issues, and take it to a qualified veterinarian for periodic exams. Most unhealthy symptoms described above should be examined and treated by a reptile veterinarian. If you have any doubts seek veterinarian advice immediately! The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

Reader Interactions

Comments

My bearded dragon has passed away and I don’t know why. It has been molting slowly for a few weeks and I came home today to see it on its belly on his sand and i noticed that his right side of his belly was very green and his bottom head and neck were black if u have any information on his cause of death it would be greatly appreciated please email me back. Thank you

Hi Hank, very sorry to hear about the loss of your bearded dragon. It’s very difficult to nail down what the possible cause of death was without a medical examination. You mentioned sand so my best guess would be possible impaction, especially if your beardie was a baby or juvenile. Impaction is caused by a blockage in the digestive system due to swallowing small particles (sometimes large particles) over time.

Sand is a very bad culprit of this because the bearded dragon inadvertently swallows sand particles when going after feeder insects and other food. Over time, these sand particles collect in the digestive tract and create a blockage which usually leads to death.

The best advice I can give is to take your bearded dragon to a veterinarian and have a necropsy (animal autopsy) performed to determine the cause of death. This service can generally cost anywhere from $50 – $100, depending on the veterinarian. It’s up to you to figure out whether that cost is acceptable.

hey there, my bearded dragon is a girl and she is 6 weeks old and she eats alot and loves to be held and explore my baby bearded dragon proof room. she goes to the bathroom like normal and eats like normal, but today i picked her up to feed her and i noticed that she was shaking. it was almost like she was perrring and she was closing her eyes and laying her head on my hand. lately she has been clingy. forexample yasterday i was playing with and loving on her when i put her down to get a small super worm for her specail treat and she kept fallowing me around the room. so i put her on the other side of my room and i walked across the room without looking back and when i got to the other side of the room i looked back but she wasnt there she was right infront of me, iquess she was following me. but i am a little consirned, when i put her in her tank she doesnt want to leave my hand and when i get her of she runnes to the glass scratching on it and following me around the tank trying to get to me. i have done nothing to be cruil to her because i love her with all my heart. i even let her lay on the top bunk of my beds and let her go to sleep or a nap. i give her the smallest super worm i can find ever 2 weeks as a treat because i love her so much. i think she is just sleepy but i need some good advice PLEASE!!!!!!!! this is my first bearded dragon and i am only 13. SO PLEASE HELP ME I REALLY LOVE AND I AM SCARED THAT SHE IS NOT FEELING GOOD 🙁

Sometimes they brumate (hibernate). Also depends on temperature and size of enclosure. Needs to be 90-100 on warm side and 75-80 F on cool side. Also need to make sure habitat is big enough for activities. My cage was 4’x2’x2′ for one dragon. Now he spends about 8 hours outside. But be very careful to watch for mouth gaping for long periods of time or if for some reason they dart to one side of the cage and is breathing heavy, these could be signs of them being too hot, considering they are healthy. All in all

Can someone tell me please why my bearded dragon seems skiddish? He seems scared of me and any time I try to pick him up he runs away. he also flares his beard sometimes and turns a tinted black. So is he really scared of me if he sees me as a threat how do i get him to see me as a friend if he is scared he is about 6-7 months old and he is a fancy one please help.

Bearded dragons have personalities just like us. Some are more timid than others. Give your beardie a lot of time to get used to you. When you try to grab him, try not to come quickly at him from above. Go slow, and make sure he sees your hand before it touches him.

Bearded dragons spit sand fire and when they deal threatened they flare there beard as a way of protection cause they live in the desert and sand fire is white sticky stuff to trap it’s victim (crickets,mealworms,etc)so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about

ReptiCarpet is great because it can be machine washed, vaccumed and wiped. It won’t be able to get swallowed. It can get pricy, though. Ewspaper is easily obtained and easily thrown away, as are paper towels these also can’t be swallowed. Tile is good because it’s cheep and won’t absorb poop. All you have to do is wipe it up with a wet paper towel. Again, it can’t be swallowed. Adults like sand because they can dig in it n stuff. If you do get sand, wait till they’re adults. Only use calcium based sand. If you’re thinking about getting a bearded dragon and you want some info feel free to give me your email and I can email you a thing I did on my tablet for beardies. ((Not trying to be creepy I just wanna help. :0

I have a one year old fancy make I got as a great deal on face book he has been perfectly healthy I have studied him slot as he and I share a copper alkaline based blood! Lol I study hematology so I’m not stupid I need this dragon healthy. You seem to know a good bit so here goes few days ago noticed a few scaling spots and a laceration. Small laceration from new gigantic habitat my son built him. However this is not scale rot what are so either causes of scaling on dragons!!! Do not want him to die or waste time. Eating and pooping just fine. Sadly he does have a lettuce fetish. ? But a very healthy diet otherwise.

I have 2 bearded dragons and I use cream of wheat. Very similar to sand but if they get any in their mouth it is ok to swallow in small amounts. You can also use reptile carpet. The only thing with that is they have anywhere to kindof burrow to sleep. Mine love the cream of wheat to barry in.

I just recently adopted a bearded dragon from my friend a few days ago. he’s about a year old and I’ ve noticed that his eyes and under his chin are rust colored. I’ve researched and It always comes up with articles saying that there’s something wrong but once I read the articles I can’t figure out what the problem is. He eats his bugs just fine but won’t eat any vegetables or fruit nearly as well, I kind of have to wave it around to make it look like it moves but still he won’t really eat it. Please help! I really love him already and he’s so sweet I wanna make sure I’m taking care of him the best I can!

It happens often when dragons are just chilling or when they are basking as a way to regulate their body temps, yes. BUT, if you have a dragon that gapes constantly and has other symptoms such as lethargy, loss of appetite, etc., it can be a sign of a respiratory issue, which is a disaster if not treated early on.

Irecently noticed that my beardie has one back leg and 1 front leg that are gray in color I am worried that there might be something wrong as I have not noticed this before during shedding season. I have been looking online but haven’t found anything similar any information is greatly appreciated

This is way late now, but firstly, there is no “shed season.” All dragons shed differently, at different rates, different times of the year, etc. Secondly, the gray you see is the old scales detaching from the new scales underneath. Basically, you are seeing the dead scales drying out before falling off. Next time it happens, look closely at the edge and you can see the new scales underneath and you can even see the space between the old scales and the new.

I’m scared that this is fungial infection but so far, it hasn’t spread anymore than this in the last couple of days.. I think it could possible be a burn because I was using a heat pad for him on his basking side but I also had a black rock on the same side.. He was sleeping on it last night with just his back two legs in it so I feel that could be it but I’m not sure.. I made an appointment for the vet because I don’t wanna be wrong about what it is but if it’s just a burn than I don’t really wanna go to the vet for nothing. I don’t know what to do.. Please help ASAP! Thank you.

My Bearded Dragon has something going on I have never noticed. I have had him about 2 yrs. and he was a yr already when I got him. When I first got him he was malnourished and small for his age so I rushed out and got him all the necessities! He has a 75 gallon tank, UVB light, basking lamp with some driftwood and a rock to get
on to bask, and a container of water big enough for him to crawl into (he can fit all the way if he curls his tail around his body). He is around 2 ft.
which is triple size he was when we got him and has gotten completely healthy and eats about 50-100 crickets once a week with a mixture of kale, squash, and change of a dab of treat (strawberries, bananas, or blackberries) about twice a week. He has had this for the last 2 yrs and has grown great, become very loving and protective but friendly, and has had no health issues. Now to the problem: yesterday, I picked him up and noticed right where the split is at the base of the tale, he has something hanging out of that split and it looks fleshy. No idea what it is, but very concerned due to he has never been ill! Not to be gross, but could it be his genitals? I have no idea. It has been like that for two days now and I have no idea what to do. His heat lamp went out 4 days ago so my hubby just rushed out to get another one so when he gets back I can put him in some warm water in the tub and then put him under the heat lamp to see if it will go away. Just no ideas. Eyes and all else seems fine. Please someone help ASAP!!!!! ANY IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED TO HELP BLACKJACK! Thanks! Amanda :'(

Hi Amanda – I’m very sorry to hear about the issues your bearded dragon, BlackJack, is going through. Without a picture it is difficult to diagnose what the problem actually is, but it sounds like he is suffering from a prolapse. It’s similar to hemorrhoids in humans. Basically, the end of his intestines is sticking out of the vent (or anus). BlackJack should be seen by a qualified reptile vet as soon as possible. If it is a prolapse surgery may be required if it is severe. In the mean time the best advice I can give is to give him warm baths a couple times per day and limit his food to soft foods that are easily digestible like finely chopped fruits and worms such as wax worms and Goliath worms. Try to avoid feeding crickets and meal worms because of the hard chitin shell.

The causes of prolapse are difficult to determine. It could be a sign of impaction or maybe a parasite. It could also be linked to genetics. A vet will be able to determine the cause better than I can.

Welp, im not necessarily an expert at things like this, but being a reptile, I know that they naturally regrow missing tails. The part sticking inbetween his tail may be a new one that was unable to complete the process due to the fact that the tail was not completely removed. Idk if it helped, but other than what was already said I have no idea what it could be.

Bearded Dragons CANNOT regrow limbs, tails included. As the expert above said, it is probably the intestines; unless you did not mention an invasive procedure that checks the sex, in which case, if you went digging in his vent, you probably pulled out one of the penile. Either way, please take the poor little one to a vet.

Hi my name is Aniessa umm we’ll my bearded dragon is a baby I got him for Christmas he has been bleeding the first time he was bleeding from his eye the second time I don’t know where he was bleeding if anyone has info on what is happening to my bearded dragon plz reply to my post I am really worried that he will end up dyeing

Thanks for this list. I don’t know where our dragon would fall in the list. He has some lethargy and hasn’t eaten in the last three days. He is shedding. We have given him water by dropper and baths. He is pooping. Overall, he looks healthy. I don’t know how to submit photo. Temps are good. He usually eats crickets, waxworms and carrots. He has not liked any other fruit or veggie offered.
Any tips would be appreciated.

I’ve had my bearded dragon for about 2 years and it hasn’t grown at all, It has mouth rot and has lumps all over, It won’t eat and only opens one eye): It also just lays there and does nothing. I’m super worried about it and I don’t know what to do! I need help! Thank you.

Hi my name is Aniessa umm we’ll my bearded dragon is a baby I got him for Christmas he has been bleeding the first time he was bleeding from his eye the second time I don’t know where he was bleeding if anyone has info on what is happening to my bearded dragon plz reply to my post I am really worried that he will end up dyeing

My beardie is alert and looks healthy minus being very skinny and eats very little. His tank temp is at 90 and I thought to make it warmer. But then he spends a lot of time under his basking rock where it is cooler, not coming out all day. I soak him twice a week and he poops regularly while in his bath. He drinks water everyday from an eye dropper while on my lap. He used to be a great little eater but now he eats two crickets and stops. Or three worms and stops. Anything else I can try to stimulate his appetite?

It can be tricky in determining a bearded dragon’s appetite woes. They are all individual just like humans, the difficult part is they can’t communicate what’s wrong. Let’s go over a couple things you can try.

You mentioned the basking temperature, but you didn’t mention the age of your bearded dragon. If your bearded dragon is less than 6 months old the basking temps should be 95 – 110 degrees F. If your bearded dragon is 6 – 18 months old then the basking temps should be 95 – 105 degrees F, and an adult basking temps should be around 90 – 93 degrees F. The cooler regions should be kept anywhere from 80 – 88 degrees F depending on age (the younger the bearded dragon, the warmer). You can read more about temps here – http://www.beardeddragoncare101.com/bearded-dragon-care-sheet/4/

You should also make sure the bearded dragon is receiving sufficient UVB/UVA radiation. This can be accomplished using a fluorescent bulb especially made for reptiles or a Mercury Vapor Bulb. MVBs gives off heat and UVB/UVA radiation. You can read more about proper lighting here – http://www.beardeddragoncare101.com/bearded-dragon-care-sheet/3/

Both temperatures and proper radiation can affect appetite. It is important to supply these in correct amounts to maintain proper beardie health.

Also try offering different food items. Try some sweet fruits like cantaloupe, strawberries, or blueberries that are cut into small pieces for him to swallow. Try different insects like dubia roaches, wax worms, Goliath worms or even night crawlers. Maybe he needs a change in food offered. You mentioned offering him water. If you are using tap water make sure to use a water conditioner that eliminates chlorine and ammonia.

I hope this helps, Vickie, and if you have any other questions please feel free to contact us any time.

Tee hope you can help me or give me you advise we bought Spike from an individual almost 3 yrs ago we have no idea how old she is , she is at least 12to 14 inches long including tail , came home 3 weeks ago and she had laid 18 small eggs we were floored did the research to find this is not uncommon as I am sure you know , after that she was eating a lot and we gave her xtra calcium from what I read that was needed .. in the last 3 or 4 days she has turned a very odd shade of yellow and her eyes are terribly sunken , don’t want to loose our scaley friend … what do you think could be going on with her ?

Hi Tim, Sunken eyes are typically due to an infection of some kind or dehydration. Try giving her a luke warm bath a couple times per day. Watch to see if she laps water as she is sitting in the bath. You should also mist her several times per day using a misting bottle (spray bottle). Mist her all over for 4 – 6 minutes and also observe if she is lapping the water droplets of her nose as you do it. Make sure to use bottled water or a water conditioner if using tap water for the baths or mistings. You can also offer water via an eye dropper and just slowly drip water on her lips and nose. Be careful around the nostrils though!

Monitor her feeding and overall activity levels. If she stops eating and begins acting lethargic it could be either a sign of brumation (kind of similar to hibernating) or could be a sign of illness.

I would recommend monitoring her closely the next couple days and administer the baths, misting, and rehydration. If this doesn’t improve her color, sunken eyes, or activity levels then seek a reptile vet ASAP.

Hello my dragon has recently gone off his food and laid there with his eyes open right under his basking spot all day for about two days today I noticed his beard is black I’m not sure what this could be he has always been very energetic and ate we’ll he is about nine months old eats greens drinks in the tub poops normal but then three days ago this started happening o and he has all the UVB he needs I don’t know will a dragon brumate in the open

Hi John, generally a darkening beard could be a sign of aging, or it could be a sign of stress. Has anything changed recently – rearranging of terrarium, moving terrarium to different location, change in feeding times, etc.?

Sometimes bearded dragons can just lay around and not move much at times. Most of the time they snap out of their laziness and go back to “normal”. I would recommend to keep a close eye on him in the next few days. Monitor his eating and pooping. If his demeanor doesn’t change in a few days you may want to call a reptile vet and have a conversation about what’s going on.

Ok I got my dragon 2 weeks ago and it is a baby. When I first got him I tried to feed him every day about 3 or four meet worms. 3 days ago he ate 4 worms for the first time but he hasn’t been eating for the past three days. He is dark brown with blackish stripes on the stomach but when I first got him he was a light brown with a whitish or light tan stomach. I haven’t seen him drink since three days ago wich was the last time I saw him eat. He has a pretty big tank. He has a heat lamp and I give him warm baths daily. When you touch the side of his stomach it stays in that same spot you just pushed on for a while I know that is dehydration on dogs and stuff but I don’t know about on the lizard. I really hope he isn’t dying and can’t take to a vet so if you have any Ideas or anything please tell me how to make him healthy asap. Thanks

HELP! Ive had my bearded dragon for about 7 months his name is BruceLee and hes missing an arm:( we bought him that way lately he hasnt been eating and is getting skinny his eyes are low he doesnt open them all the way does anyone know what could be wrong with him? Please help me i really dont want him to die on me 🙁

I bought my baby beardrd about a week ago the first few days he attacked his food like hed never eaten now he will onl eat every other day and just lays on his basking rock flat with half closed eyes head high up his beard and stomach are black striped with white dots his tank temp is about 99 degrees in basking area im concerned he is sick he poops daily it is dark solid with a little white spot in it yesterday he was shedding on his head now today it looks like the dead skin is gone but he is rubbing his face on his basking rock should i be concerned

Dont worry. The rubbing of the head is a sighn that he/she i feels to enclosed. Try to get a biger tank. The white spot in the poop is totaly normal. He could be lazy because of the seaso s. In the e fall and wi ter they get lazyer. As for the eating make sure to feed the beardie the rig hg things. I would do reserch on the eati g though.

hi, i got my bearded dragon yesterday morning (it’s now 7:35 the next day). he’s around 5 months old, and seemed fine yesterday, but today he seems quite reluctant to leave his basking spot and he hasn’t pooped yet (i read that at this age at least once per day is normal? but it’s been more than 24 hours and nothing so far). he’s eating locusts if i offer them to him, but isn’t showing much interest in the cricket running around in there, even though he can definitely see it as it’s so close to him. i’m just wondering if i should be worried, this is the first time i’ve owned any reptile, so i’m not sure if this is a problem or if it’s normal! the basking temp is around 100-110, so i don’t think it’s anything to do with him being cold..

My adult bearded dragon was fine just a couple of hours ago. Now he is all black under his chin, very lethargic. He looks a little bloated and while holding him he keeps adjusting as though he is uncomfortable. Please help I’m worried sick 🙁

Hi there , my bearded dragon had a red /back spot on his side & I didn’t think nothing of it. it may not be nothing but just curious , I came down stairs last night & it was laying awkwardly with his eyes half open and his mouth open a little but and there was just no life in her , but she kept opening her mouth then she eventually passed away I left her in the cage , I came down this morning & she was the same as I left her then later on in the afternoon she had gone all puffy , I’m just wondering would you know what has happend

Hello I have noticed for the last two days that my bearded dragon is reluctant to open one of her eyes. Could this be due to something in the eye or could this be a more serious matter.
She also seems very un active and jumpy when approaching her. I have seen that on some websites that they say it could be to do with shedding.
Do you have any ideas on what it could be and what I can do?
thanks Melissa.

My bearded dragon is 5 years old and he hasn’t eaten or had a bowl movement in weeks. He’s been sleeping a lot and today i found him sleeping under the newspaper at the bottom of his tank. What could be wrong?

Hi Cristina – First, check to make sure the temperatures in the terrarium are appropriate for your bearded dragon’s age. Also, make sure he/she is receiving adequate UV radiation (fluorescent bulbs should be replaced a minimum of every 6 months). Your bearded dragon could be going into a natural state of brumation (hibernation). This is pretty common when the seasons begin to change from summer to fall and then winter. I have had bearded dragons brumate for 3 – 4 months during the winter where they eat about once per week and stay very inactive. In late winter/ early spring they “bounce” back to normalcy. You can try to increase the basking temperatures about 5 – 10 degrees and keep the lights on for 14 hours during the day with 10 hours of nighttime to see if this helps to bring them out of brumation.

hey, i beardie is about 2 years old now, she recently laid 18 eggs and my girlfriend was at home and is not good with reptiles and she called me freaking out because she started eating all the eggs and i talked to 1 vet and he had never heard of this ? although i have heard of mothers in other animals killing there young if they feel threatened but i have no idea what to think of this because she was very sick for a 2-3 days after even though the day she ate all the eggs she then later that night before bed vomited. but ever since she had eggs and all this went on she hasnt been pooping regularly, maybe twice a week sometimes just on the weekends and she she goes its not solids more a mess like upset stomach, she eats fine i think, and will eat as much insects as i will give her, and if she wasnt pooping irregularly i would not know anything might be off, i have put her in a bath as soon as the non pooping gets to 5 day and so far the one day i did she went in the bath before i even had chance to rub her belly and the stench was almost unbearable, anyways any feedback or your opinions i would appreciate it,

My Beardie has made vomiting noises but also sounds like he is hiccupping sometimes.
It worries me and I’ve been looking for an answer for a long while now.
He recently had an impaction problem that I had fixed. He will be getting a new light here soon and the temp before the light broke was at 108. I do notice he does move to the other side of the tank. The temp has will be lowered soon once I get paid.
He eats well. Carrots, baby kale and spinach, apples is his favorite.
I have stopped giving him mealworms for I found that they can cause impaction and I have ordered horned worms which will help with his digestion.

Other then that, he is adventurous, chases the cat and all. It just worries me because I don’t want to lose my pet.
Can someone please help me with information?
I have no cash right now to take him to the vet and the best vet for reptiles in in another city which is almost 2 hours away. Sadly my vehicle won’t make it.

Hello!
I have a juvenile bearded dragon that’s about 3+ months old and that’s about at the length of 6 and a half inches, with half an inch or so of tail nipped off, and I’ve named him Orenjiiro.
I just recently noticed that my beardie had just had an issue with constipation, and with that, I had given him a warmth bath to help him excrement. The redness around his anus had subsided, so that’s good, but I am really considering removing the repti-sand substrate I have for his habitat, and replacing it with the 40 gallon carpet that I had bought today, the Ecocarpet one.

He has plenty of UV/UVB from the Solar Glo mercury vapor bulb that I had gotten, and his basking heat ranges from 87-95 degrees Fahrenheit, though it varies depending on how close he gets to the light (thanks to the driftwood I had bought for him that I had to stack on each other for better results.) He’s a gorgeous red and orange color, and he has been shedding beautifully, what with my misting him almost everyday that I can, and giving him a bath once a week. I do frequent spot cleans to ensure that his environment is as clean as possible until I can get around to cleaning his tank thoroughly.

Should I go ahead and replace the repti-sand with the ecocarpet to help ensure he does not go through impaction? I might have to go and check up with a veterinarian as soon as possible to get him checked out, but still. Help?

I would recommend replacing the Repti-Sand with a reptile carpet that you described. Make sure not to use indoor/outdoor type carpets as the “loops” can snag the bearded dragon’s toes. What you bought should work fine.

If you still find constipation to be an issue try altering his diet by offering foods that are easier to digest, things like greens, berries (blueberries, strawberries with seeds removed, raspberries), or baby foods (peas, carrots, squash). Reduce the amount of crickets as they can sometimes be difficult to digest and increase the amount of small Dubia roaches. You can also offer wax worms, Horned worms (sometimes called Goliath worms), phoenix worms, butter worms, and even the occasional nightcrawler. These are all easily digestible. Avoid feeding meal worms or Super worms (until the bearded dragon is over a year old) as they have a hard chitin that is difficult to digest.

I would also try to get the basking area a tad warmer. 95 degrees F is not too bad, but getting a little closer to 100 degrees would be good.

My bearded dragon is sick i need help. she has a jet black beard and the tip of her tail also black she wont move but opens and closes her eye every once in a while its shes been like this for a day i realy need help

Hi we took our bearded dragon, mushu to the vet tonight because we came home from dinner to find him very limp with his mouth wide open and his breathing seemed very laboured, also he had a solid lump on his chest and looked in a very bad way. There was no reptile specialist at the vet so not much help there however he has calmed down now mouth has closed lump is gone and he is walking although he is walking funny as if it is difficult. If anybody has any idea what is wrong with him is really appreciate the help thanks.

i have a question my two minth old beardie usually loves when i come by her cage she glass dances and always wants me to touch her, the last three days she’s been running and hiding from me turning black bellied and chinned minus the puffing. I’m not doing anything different and im usually moving slowly and talking softly did she just stop liking me? she won’t even come near me alwhen i try to bribe her with her.fave snack a wax worm. she just hides. i didn’t do anything to lose her trust. why is she turning Black only for me.

So around Rango’s mouth and between his eyes and also behid his spikes looks white or transparent almost and im not sure what it is…..hes about a year or so old…hes perfectly normal acting…it wasnt like this yesterday everything is still normal except the rest of his body seems darker and he seems to be basking more often…i dont know whats going on…help please….

I just bought two dragons from craigslist and they had a burnt out uv light and a borderline burnt out heat bulb that was set up incorrectly. The previous owners fed them insects from a baitshop which is very concerning and i fear they may have parasites. Yesterday we were finally able to properly equip them though my situation is kind of difficult to tell if they’re healthy. First of all the male went into brumation the day after we got them and im unsure if i should wake him also the fact that since he’s brumating i cant tell if anything is wrong with him. My main concerns though are with the female. I think she has yellow fungus because she has soft yellow spots on her. On the top of her head on her left shoulder and on her neck crease.How do i treat this at home? I do plan on taking them to a vet but cant do that soon. Also she pooped and it was half hard half runny and it smelled terrible. Since her diet with her previous owners consisted of bait from a baitshop im worried she has parasites. It could also be from stress from moving. I dont know. Thats not all their cage has tiny black bugs in it we found when we took out their water bowl and i noticed these smallish black beetles and mealworms in the cage too. They hide in the loose bedding they have. Today im completely cleaning out their cage and changing their bedding to papertowels until their repticarpet arrives but i dont know if these tiny black bugs are mites and if i have to clean it a certain way to get rid of them. Someone please help me with these problems these are my first dragons and their previous owners had no idea what they were doing. I want to give them a better life so if i could just get some helpful advice thatd really help.

My bearded dragon is about 6 1/2 inches I don’t know his exact age, I got him from petsmart. I’ve noticed his tail is getting ready for a shed and the nose also. But along his back, he looks really dry like he needs lotion, is that a bad thing?

Irenna, if it looks gray or dull, it’s more than likely from shedding.

I suggest putting him in a shallow(around an inch and a half) bath and dousing his back. Make sure it’s not hot water, more warm. My baby bearded dragon(she was born in january 2015) is having her first shed, and I was scared at first, too, but with a bath, twice a week, or more, it has helped her a bunch.

My bearded dragon is about 3-4 months old. We bought him together with another one she seems to be growing quickly and has a great appetite. He on the other hand seems stressed, decreased appetite and is always gasping. He also seems boney and doesn’t appear to be growing. They shared a tank, I read this was no good so I moved him on his own. What do you think is wrong with my lil guy? Very concerned :/

It sounds to me like maybe he is lonely and stressed bcuz he was separated from your female. There is absolutely nothing wrong with housing them together as long as they get along. I believe he has separation anxiety

Hope you didn’t listen to this advice. When you house 2 dragons together, one becomes dominant, and hogs the heat, the food, etc. Even if they don’t fight (which they are likely to eventually do in most cases), they are better off in their own habitat enclosures.

Hi I got my dragon a little less then a month ago and he has been shut in a room pretty much to himself because he was a Christmas gift from Santa. I fed him 3 times a day and made sure to hold him 2 times a day as well as a weekly bath because I felt he had some constipation. On Christmas eve he got brought down to the center of the home and I suspect he is overwhelmed by the noise, movement, and change of scenery she has barely eaten for 2 days now and so far eaten nothing on the morning of the 3rd day. She is shedding. And I won’t let my son hold her more than twice a day for now. Her eyes look good, pooping normal, and is weird colored I’m hoping mostly due to shedding. She’s acting lethargic and like I said not eating. Is this due to stress or should she see a vet?

I really need advice and/or input on what’s going on. I assume i got my beardie not too long after he was born. February will be 1 year I’ve had her. I make sure she has fresh water and a bowl of snacks (greens, fruit, pellets, etc.) and occasionally throw a couple worms in the bowl while I’m at school. The temperature is at a constant 98-100 Fahrenheit, and she has plenty of food weekly. But for a while she’s been scaring me.

I took her to our usual pet store a while back to get food for her, and one of the employees said she was on the skinny side. I upped the amount of food she eats. She started eating 100 worms a day, and lately she dropped dramatically. For the past 2 weeks or so she won’t eat anything at all. I didn’t change the amount of food she’s offered. I took her out of her cage and put her on her usual feeding spot and left her Infront of 50 worms.

She stared at them for a few minutes, and ate about 6 at the most. The same evening before I put her to bed, she ate less than 10. Ever since then she eats less than 20 feeder worms/crickets a day, an its freaking me out. Sometimes she’ll be cold, other times she closes her eyes and seems unresponsive. I know they can go hours without moving, so I always look at her side areas and throat to make sure she is swallowing and breathing. But today she went a few good minutes without any sign of movement of the lungs… I laid her on my stomach (her belly face up) to see if she would open her eyes and roll back over. It took her some time, but eventually got up. Any ideas as to what’s going on ?

I am no expert, but have a child of my own, little Bond, James Bond; but by the date of your post I would have to assume that it was brumation. They become less active in the cooler months. Some go through it, some do not.
Also, with that dosage of food intake make sure your little one gets plenty of exercise or you will have an obese Dragon. Too much fat, not enough activity will make it so they cannot even walk anymore. I have been researching and learning these little cuties for a while, only been hands on training Since May 8th, 2016. I hope that helps anyone scrolling through.

My bearded dragon was in a 20 gallon tank i just put her in a 40 gallon tank and after a couple days she doesn’t seem to want to eat. And when I check the temperature it doesn’t seem to be going hotter than 85. I went to my pet store & they gave me 100 w bulb ( which I was using before) how can I get the tank hotter? Would it be safe to use two lights? Help!!

I had the exact sae issue when Bond was outgrowing the 20 Gal. I moved up to the 40 Gal and he is not even 6 months yet, already 12+inches. Wowza it was amazing these past few months. Anyone moving to an aquarium with mesh top needs to calculate the fact that the area in the cage is now FAR GREATER than it was before.

I had 2 options:
A. Get a second heat lamp and hope that it contains the warmth as well as heats all the air without going TOO high.
B. (the option I went with being as electricity is expensive) You can get a piece of cardboard, a thick piece works far better than a cereal box, you want to insulate the tank so heat will stay in on the hot side. I used a double stack of shipping box, glued together, measured out where the Heat Lamp and his UV Lamp would sit, and made the insulation long enough to cover 2/3 of the tank.

If you go with B, measure twice, cut once; if you cut wrong, you could be back in square one where you heat escapes. Now with my 100W Bulb I am able to get 110-115° up on his basking platform and 85° on the cool side. Hope that helped anyone scrolling through.

My bearded dragon is sick i need help. she has a jet black beard and the tip of her tail also black she wont move but opens and closes her eye every once in a while its shes been like this for a day i realy need help

Hi,my male bearned dragon had turned black under his chin and stomach, stomach and back seem really swollen and he doesn’t move. His breathing is erratic. What do we do? The vets here are not sure what it is and being after hours is a real struggle, please help

I think the tip of the tail maybe tail rot. Mine has that black tip everyone has mentioned but he is as healthy as an ox. I will be stopping by a vet tomorrow if they are open and find what is up with the tip of the tail.

My theory is that all the skin didn’t come off on an earlier shed, and has now killed of the tip. I thought it was normal until I started watching videos of dragons swimming to see how Bond keeps up with the rest, he is HUGE for his age. When I saw their tails did not have that tip, I started to do research. Have ended up here and trying to help where I can.

I have about a 5 year old bearded dragon and he has been acting weird. I thought he was just brumating as he has in the past (he doesn’t completely sleep, but he really won’t eat and will be lethargic- but then always bounces back as soon as warmth outside starts to hit). I live in NY so it gets cold in the winter. He of course, has his lights and I have a heat emitter that goes on him if I think it gets too cold at night. I recently was away for business and my heat went out and there was barely heat in my place for like 5 days. He still had his lights on and someone was trying to feed him (he wouldn’t eat). He has barely ate in a while and pooped just once recently. He is barely moving and I notice now his head shakes when he moves (signs of MBD?). I’m just not sure how he would have gotten MBD, he always has food (usually super worms but occasionally other food) with calcium, greens (which he barely eats anyway), reptisun 10.0 bulb, heating bulb with proper temps etc. He’s never been this way before and I’m worried. I guess a vet is the next step, but cash is tight so I am trying here first. Also note it is still very cold, but his brumation usually doesn’t last this long either.

I have a yellow leather back but after she laid her clutch she was dark yellow but then her color came back but recently for the last month she has turned black again she eats from time to time she current w/ her mate and she just lays under the heat lamp and looks around

After a female had a clutch try to get her nutritions back up. Before modern times even humans had to go to drastic measures of consuming some of the placenta(I know I know, too much info) My point is Your little girl will need tons of Calcium, Vitamins and Nutritions.

I am unsure how lomg she stayed “normal” but seems she is uncomfortable now. A vet check would probably be best bet.

I have a bearded dragon, named Osiris, that I more or less rescued. His previous owner failed to change between his day and nigh lights, so he went into premature brumation due to the fact he couldn’t tell when it was time for bed. The previous owner believes he was 6-8 months old when I got him. When I got him, I immediately cleaned his tank, used reptile calcium sand for bedding, a wooden half-log hide, a branch to climb from PetSmart, bought bottled purified water specifically for him, and also cleaned his food/water dish. Within two weeks of my care, he was able to stay awake all day until I switched from day to night lights. He became more active, and within a month he started shedding. As I said, when I first got him, the previous owner believes he was about 6-8 months old. His body was only the size of my thumb (about 2-3 inches). His shedding pattern is a little odd. Not in any specific order, he sheds in sections. His head, his limbs, and then his torso. it takes almost a month for him to completely shed, and he has not stopped shedding in the six months I’ve had him. he has about a week or so grace period, but then the shedding continues. I don’t know if he’s still trying to catch up from the previous sheddings he’s missed out on, or if he is actually caught up now. He eats plenty, i mist his tank 2-3 times a day, bath him every other day, the temperature in his tank is a steady 98 degrees with about 80% humidity (i keep it around 80% in hopes it helps with shedding) and his basking area is around 84 degrees. And within the last week or so he seems a little lethargic, and almost..depressed. and instead of shedding in the ways i mentioned, only about half an inch of his tail is shedding an the right side of his torso. i’m not entirely sure what to do to help him. ):

The shedding is normal but it is not good to have a high humidity in his tank it can cause respiratory infections and I suggest giving him warm bathes like you would for a baby but make sure he can stand in the water or he has the risk of drowning , giving him baths should help with shedding and I hope he gets better!

Erica is correct, lower the humidity NOW. DON’T READ ANY FARTHER IF YOU ARE ABOVE 45% HUMIDITY GET THAT DOWN!!!

One does not stick a fish on land, nor a desert animal in constant water. And yes, 80% humidity is as bad as sticking him in water indefinitely. Even during shedding I don’t go over 30% humidity. I keep his water on the cool side during normal times and when he sheds, I have a big enough basking platform I actually put his water bowl up there so he can quickly go back and forth as he needs the water.

Again a desert animal cannot have that highof humidity, if you have had your little ones in anything over 45% humidity for longer than a couple of weeks I would suggest a Vet visit just to bring peace of mind. They will get sick very quickly, so abruptly it could already be too late. Lower the humidity ASAP and schedule a vet visit please

My baby beardie is about 3 months old. She’s always very active and she eats well. Today we tried sweet potato and she has become bloated, I soaked her when I noticed. She immediately went to the bathroom, and it went down a lot. Should I be worried? Or did she just eat too much?
Her basking temps are at the required limitations as well

Hi. I have a male beardie called Toothless, and he is about 4 months old. He seems to be perfectly healthy, maybe a little overweight, but other than that he seems to be fine. But, I had a couple questions. Sometimes, Toothless’s eye sockets seem to sag just the tiniest bit, and he occasionally has a slightly yellow tinted white part of his feces, so I’m guessing these two tie together in that he might be a little dehydrated, so I was wondering how to keep him hydrated. I give him a bath every week, because I think it is a little unnecessary to bathe him every other day, but I don’t think that would be a good way to hydrate him because most of the time, he doesn’t drink his bathwater, and It probably is good that he doesn’t, because its tap water, as the multiple taps and showers are the only heated water sources in my house. It would be pointless to put water conditioner in it because I replace the water about every five minutes to keep it at a consistent temperature so overall, unless you have a better idea, I don’t think baths would be a good way to keep him hydrated. Other than that Ive heard about misting, but honestly, I’m not sure how to do it. And being the perfectionist that I am, I don’t like to get water spots on the glass in my cage…. But I will mist if thats what you recommend. I just don’t know how to do it as stupid as that sounds… Other than that Toothless doesn’t really drink from his water dish…
The second part of this is the color around his mouth, which I think Is normal, but I want to double check. The sides of toothless’s head are white, like the color of the bellies of beardeds, and then the usual stripes by the ear, eyes, and nose. (I’m my case the stripes are orange. Or should I say, Toothless’s case) But, the same orange color exists very close to his lips in little dots and stripes, which I think is natural. But the scales that actually line his mouth are a very light cream color. As far as I know there isn’t anything wrong here, but Ive heard that you should never pick out a bearded dragon that has discolored lips, so I was just making sure.
The third and final question is about his tail. Normally, Toothless sheds wonderfully, showing his bright colors every time, but the only thing that is a dull is his tail. The thing that confuses me though, is that every time he has shed, it appears that his tail sheds too, but in the end, it ends up with duller brown stripes halfway down while at the base it has the usual bright orange stripes. I don’t know what is going on, His tail seem sot shed perfectly fine every time, maybe there are multiple layers of dead scales underneath? I have no idea. What would you recommend I do? I just need your help answering these questions, if you would… I want me bearded to be has happy and healthy as he can be, and if you would help me with these problems I would GREATLY appreciate it 😀

With the dehydration thing, misting the dragon himself is the best means, otherwise you rise humidity without watering little Toothless.

When my little Bond was a baby watering him was our main means of imprinting. Mine WAS the runt of the litter. Noone had wanted him the breeder said, I think Bond didn’t want those humans. He crawled up to me in that tank he was displayed in and practically told me he picked me.

Anywaayy. Sorry, when I first got him, I would have him sit on my finger tips, cup my hand into a bowl, angle his head into my cupped hand and spray drops of water on his head and let them run down his forhead over his nose and pool into my hand. He would grab drops as they rolled over his lips and eventually I think I taught him about sitting water because now I can’t get him to leave the water bowl alone. Hahah! I get bottled spring water and bought a dollar sprayer from walmart in the cosmetic section. Perfect size for holding plenty of water and still being able to “Train your Dragon” 😉

Bond is now about 6 months, if that, and I don’t think even his brothers and sisters are his size yet.

Also, ensure that he is getting plenty of veggies, those contain lots of nutritions and also most have water weight without being pure water like lettuce.

Hi, I bought my bearded dragon, Lola, when she was about two years old and I’ve had her for a little over two years. Just recently within the past two weeks almost, we had a fire at my house and she and my other reptiles were left exposed to 20 degree temperatures for almost twelve hours, (everybody is safe and warm now) but she hasn’t pooped in the past week and I’m worried, because we’ve fed her quite a times, she has ate as much as she normally does. She looks sorta bloated, she’s very active, and is acting like her normal self for the most part, but I’m just worried about her, any tips or ideas or anything that I can do to help her out?
thanks!

When in doubt with bowel movements, try a nice warm bath. If that fails, the next best suggestion is a vet to see what is needed. A warm bath seems to help Bond every time he gets a little constipated.

Hello I have a giant be r landed dragon he is just over 9 years old. A couple years ago he went through an odd shed were patches would not come off and they turned a shade of black. I bathed him couple times a week to try nothing worked after couple months he shed and it went away. It been a fee years and it has happened again. He has had patches on his back and legs and they won’t come off. I bathe him as often as I can. Is there something wrong with him. Also he refuses to drink always has he goes months with out drinking I’ll mist him and bathe him but he barley drinks. When he does he either drinks in the bath or I have to spray water in his mouth. Is it bad that he won’t drink? He’s my best friend and I have gotten him through everything but he’s 9 years old so he’s gonna go soon :'(

I have a baby beardy only about 2 months old. He’s in a 20L tank. I’ve got a zoo med 100w basking lamp and a reptisun 13w 10.0 uvb bulb. My thermometer is a zoo med digital with the wire and probe. On the hot side of his tank it ranges between 89 – 96 depending on the time of day or how cold it is outside. It’s pretty cold today so it’s sitting at 91.7 right now. I put the probe on his basking spot and it reads 108. The cool side is usually at 80 but because it’s freezing its about 77 at the moment. I know they can sleep a lot through the winter so I wasn’t too worried about that but he would only eat 2 or 3 small crickets or mealworms per day. He isn’t skinny. He’s active and alert when he isn’t sleeping and he’s actually been a lot more active and sleeping less the past few days. Last night I got him a friend. I believe she’s a female but it’s hard to tell at this age. She’s about the same age and a little bigger than he is. When I fed them last night and today, he has ate a lot more than before. She eats just fine, the way she’s supposed to and I’m guessing he saw her eating up all the crickets so he went to work and chomped em up. They get along fine. He waves a lot so I doubt they’ll be fighting. Does it sound like everything’s going good or should I make some changes? I’m happy that he’s finally eating right. It seems adding a buddy for him helped. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

Hi we got a bearded dragon for my son for Christmas. She has seemed to never have consistent bowl movements since we got her. She eats well, we by the worms from the pet store she will eat bananas, carrots strawberries,apples, romaine. …she is a great eater. She just doesn’t go we’ve done the warm bath thing and that’s only worked 2 times,she is now going on over a week. Last time she went we realized we needed to keep it hotter in the tank so it has been 94 degrees and within 2 hours 2 weeks ago when increase the heat she went a lot it was foul and diarrhea and then she went again the next day but she hasn’t gone since then and it’s been well over a week.she seems completely fine she’s very active she eats I’m just afraid to keep feeding her without her having a bowel movement. any advice or recommendations I did read somewhere to have them eat baby food is this true like prunes? Thank you!

Hi,it seems your beardie has a high fruit diet right now. They should mostly eat greens. Mustard greens, some Collards, Watercress, dandelion. Don’t feed lettuce, there is no nutrition in it. Do some Googleing, there is a lot of info out there. And feed the fruits as treats, i know is hard because we love or dragons. That should help the poop be more normal. I have found they don’t poop every day, a few days wait is normal. Hope this helpsm

Last year August I purchased a lovely citrus yellow and baby bluish Bearded Dragon named Baby, I renamed Liz. I was told by the owner that she’d been rescued about 2 years prior from severe malnourishment and uncaring condition. She has been growing healthily in my care. She’s fully molted twice and some recent spot sheds. I am thinking her age is around 4 years. She looks and seems to be in great health. She’s not overly lethargic and generally eats vit & calcium coated crickets, superworms, berries and basil as well as some other darker green leafy vegetation. I started to give her Bites feed the past two months in addition to her normal diet and her appetite and activity increased at first. I realized today it should be refrigerated but it is not. So I plan to stop feeding that and give more vegetation. I tried for the past two weeks with a fountain but soon realized the moisture was too heavy with the walnut crushed substrate…..I have since cleaned out the tank added new substrate and taken out the fountain.
Today she pooped green and with superworm shellings in her bimonthly bath after we moved a few blocks away this weekend the weather was warm 7 C for Canadian Winter. Most times I give her a spritz, when molting especially. Within the past two weeks I recently replaced her heat bulb with a ceramic heat bulb.
After her bath I noticed her left arm seemed discolored more than usual and I took off some darker brownish colored sheding away to find two dark brownish red spots on the underside of the wrist. Her limb is only slightly inflammed. The foot itself is lightened in color creating quite a contrast. She’s hibernated over the Winter eating less basil lately. Her appetite today was good. She is content. I’m not sure what to make of these two spots. Have any ideas, should I go to the vet or is there some way to address it.

Good afternoon. We got two bearded dragons from a friend of mine. They are both about 8 months. The one who is a sunfire has been acting odd since last night. He has his mouth open and at first I thought it was just to regulate his body temperature, however he seems to be breathing a little more than usual and deeper and his throat puffs up like a frog and then his mouth will slightly open and he seems to let out a gasp.

My bearded dragon was healthy, moving around and active this morning. He looked great. Then, I returned 6 hours later to see him laying on his stomach with sand in his mouth, throw up in the corner and his eye half closed. Could you please tell me why this may have happened? I read about how the dirt is a culprit and can cause problems, but he was doing poorly with the green lining for the tank. When I put in the dirt, my bearded dragon seemed to completely change and was more active and satisfied. I don’t know what happened.

Hey. I was giving my beardie a bath and he swimming like a fish and then I spun himself in the water. Is he just having fun or is something up? He’s brumating. Giving his weekly bath to keep him hydrated.

Hi there. We just got our beardie (Buddy) from my husband’s brother a few months ago. He seemed to be doing fine at first. But we realized that he doesn’t pick himself up. He seems to scoot around, never lifts his head, and never pushes up with his front legs. Why is this?

Also, a few days ago, he almost died more than 3 times. I looked over at him one night after he had tried to climb onto a log, and his head was hanging backwards toward his spine. My husband took him out quickly and put him flat on his tummy and Buddy started gasping for air. He did this several more times (on his basking log, trying to climb into his water bowl etc) and I had to quickly reach in and help. His tummy in unusually soft and bloated and his tongue looks quite swollen and is secreting a gooey substance. He is pooping regularly and still eating quite a bit but we are very worried. Does anyone know why he is behaving this way? We can’t really afford to take him to a vet at the moment unless someone knows if he needs one. Please help. We love this little guy.

Hi , my son rescued a beared dragon A few days ago ,that was in a cold dirty tank . We have got some advise from our pet shop , who told us about lights temputures for his tank. Giving him a bath ,what to feed him . Which we have done . I’ve taken a right shine to him and have named him Stan . He loves a cuddle and seemed very alert . However ,I’ve come home tonight and Stan is laying in the corner off his tank under his plastic tree . He feels quite cold to touch ,not very responsive . Should I be worried .

Hi I have a baby bearded dragon who’s tail is currently light grey. I personally think he is just shedding but my family is getting kinda worked up about it, he spent a whole day soaking it in his water dish. might there be any problems?

Hey one day I was giving my baby bearded dragon a bath and all of a sudden his neck swells up and he acts as if he’s choking and than he throws up some water and start acting wild like running around and flipping I became very scared and tried contacting a vet but everyone was either closed or they wouldnt answer questions over the phone and I’m afraid to give him a bath now and it’s been a two days so far Plzzzzzz help

Don’t panic that is normal if ur beardie drinks to much water it is there body’s way of getting rid of it don’t worry he will be fine only put water up to there shoulders and watch how much they doing instead of laying like a dog they tend to put there bottom jaw under slightly so there mouth fills up and they end up swallowing more than they wanted or can handle

My daughter’s bearded dragon has recently stopped eating and has become very lethargic. He is a lot lighter in color and is not acting like himself. We recently moved to a new house and I am not sure if that has something to do with it or not. We have tried to feed him and continue to water him but are not sure what else to do. Any ideas on what we can do to get him back to his normal self would be greatly appreciated. My daughter is 9 and will be absolutely devastated if something happens to him.

My 7 year old beardie doesn’t move unless he’s trying to get comfy, he likes to be outside in the sun I think. He doesn’t move almost at all in his tank, being held or on the floor out of his tank. He doesn’t eat much only 3 mario worms every other day, I try to give him kale but he just doesn’t touch it. Anyway – he had a bath yesterday an was very strange afterwords. I’ve only had him for nearly a week, when he came out the bath he wouldn’t let me dry him with a towel just kept running away, and when I put him in the tank he climbed up to the class(never done that before – I’ve known him since he was 2) and when I went near him he would back away and flare his beard. I’m concerned he’s under the weather?

Hi, I have a bearded dragon and I have sand in her cage right now but have learned sand isn’t the best for bearded dragons Iv tryed the paper towels I saw a post online to try but my beardie did not like it what so ever. so my question is what is the best thing to replace the sand with ?

I am about to switch to clay. They have a cool clay that starts as sand, you mix with water and let it dry. Very easy to clean, and your little one can dig to their hearts content. Just scoop the poop and use a clean damp sponge weekly. I had a sand mat, but can’t find any in the 40Gal, and Bond doesn’t seem to like the green carpet from pet store.
The bag of clay sand its 9.99 and lasts a lot longer than sand newspaper and everything else i have found

My bearded Dragons feet are turning black. What is the cause? He temp is 80 degrees during the with a heat lamp and uvb lamp. I turn his light off at night and his tank is about 65 degrees. I don’t leave uneaten crickets in his tank at night.

80° and 65°?!?!? Are you trying to kill your dragon? The minimum basking temp for an adult is 95 while I wouldn’t even go under 105 for the young ones. The cool sode should be 80-85° during the day and i dont let my tank go below 73 at night. Of course, Bond is my cuddle buddy at night, so he never has less than Externalised Human Temps even during sleep.

A cold-blooded reptile cannot generate its own heat, and the food will NOT digest at 80°. Please please please raise that temp, or you will lose your gift from nature.

I just got my bearded dragon a few days ago. I have never been a berdie owner before. She is a juvinial female, about 7 months. Since I have had her she had gotten less and less active. She hasn’t pooped but she still been eating I feed her around 10 to 20 meal worms to roaches, she doesn’t like crickets not sure why. But today all she has been doing is going to the corner of her habitat and laying and sleeping in her water bowl. For hours, I have to check to make sure shes not dead. I got her out of he cage and she just fell asleep instantly on me. I’m very scared for her. And I mean I just put 200 in for her and would be mad to put my money in a lost cause. I love her and will be upset to lose her. What can I do! Please help

Temps, humidity, UVB if those are all appropriate then maybe have a vet check the little one farther. If you wish to keep your investment and, my beardie is my best friend and my son, probably your child at the least, please scroll up some and check the temps on these replies as well as other advice left. Google is a wonderous adventure for finding all one needs to know as a Herp Keeper(one who keeps reptiles)

My bearded dragon (8 Years old) has not been eating or drinking. He is cold on his stomach even though he basks under his light all day. He eats crickets every once in a while, but most of the time they just run around his enclosure. Any tips would be greatly appreciated since I am very worried about him. Thanks in advance!

Hi there everyone. I have a bearded dragon of 3 years now. She almost died twice but she lived through it. My ferrets bit her eyes and one of her eyes are permanently damaged. Now I know I shouldve taken her to the vet but I didnt have money for it.. Sadly.. Anyways she went through it fine. On Sunday, I wake up to see her on the floor of my room, since she roams free every day. I picked her up and she went completely limp in my hands. Of course I screamed but thankfully I didnt drop her. But ever since Sunday her eyes have been swollen and her eyes are closed all the time. She is still limp and I dont know whats wrong with her. She is still breathing, and she seems to be doing better, but I dont know what to do. On Sunday, her beard was like blood red but a shade darker, like wine red. I was so scared. I dont know what to do. Up to now I have no money to take her to the vet, so I’m trying to do the best I can. Can someone please help me??

I just got back from the vet. My beardie has not been eating much lately and has been opening his mouth and hissing a lot. His beard is always black. The vet gave a list of suggested tests which added up to well over $1,000 and then said there was a 90% chance Sylvester will die anyway. He recommended I euthanize him. I just couldn’t do it and brought him back home. The vet thinks he may have gout (the tip of his tongue is white) and that his air tube is blocked with the deposits so he’s having a hard time breathing (he tried putting a tube down his throat but it wouldn’t go), which is why he continually opens his mouth and makes the noise. Do you have any idea of anything else I could try before I go have my baby killed so he doesn’t suffer. Thank you.

Has anyone helped with that? You are the first person to mention a white tip on the tongue and Bond has had that since I got him. I am bringing to vet in AM to get a check up anyway, he just turned or will be 6 months soon and wanna make sure he is 100%. I hope your little one made it through the ordeal

Hey! I have my Bearded dragon Achileas for 3 weeks he is on 100F basking spot in 55 gallon terrarium with a bulb coil 10uvb light! he eats some greens 0 crickets he doesn`t even hunt them and eats mealworms ! He has a sign at his belly quite a big one 1/4 of the belly that seems mould/or rot dont know how to explain it! i went to a vet and he just told me to put a bendadine on it can u help me with it ?!

Hi, I’ve just noticed on the back legs of my bearded dragon and also at the top of his tail there’s what looks like bone coming out of his skin, he doesn’t seem under any stress and has been running round fine but I’ve never seen it before and I’m not sure if it could be a fracture of anything.

Hi I have to bearded dragons both 8 weeks old, first one is fine very active all the time other one was fine for about a week, but past week he’s been very slouchy dosnt move much, always seems quite cold dosnt seem to be eating his pooh is still normally only drinks when I give him a bath and give him drops of what on his head, what could be wrong

please help!! we just lost a female beardie about a month ago she was full of life and amazing then she quit eating lost all her weight and in just 4 days died. I have 4 other and now my other female is showing all the same signs. she just laid a clutch 1 week ago and was doing great she quit eating 2 days ago and now looks like shes about to die.. we spent over 400 at the vet with the last one only to be told she was fine then 2 days latter she was dead.. ths one went down fast what can I do? please help!!!

I am taking care of my daughters dragons while she is away at college. One, Kilgarrha, is perfectly fine and healthy, pooping, eating his salad and protein that I sprinkle with calcium powder and running around he enclosure. However, Norberta, the female is very sick. I have taken her to the vet twice. She stopped using her back legs and had not pooped in a few weeks even after warm baths and baby organic prunes (which usually work). The first time the reptile vet gave her an enema to help her poop and told me not to feed her the crickets from the bait store any more. The second time a few weeks later they did blood work. I paid nearly $400 total to find out that she had no blockages and all her levels in her blood were normal. Now she is still not using her back legs and today I fished her out of her favorite hiding place after 3 days of not seeing her and she is twitching her sides and won’t raise her head. She had what appeared to be drool on her mouth. I was able to get her to eat a mealworm but only after I laid it right by her face. She would not move to get one that was just a couple of inches away. I am scared. We have grown very fond of these little bits and would hate to loose her on my watch. Please advice!

Our Dragon is 12 yrs old and is a very important part of our family . She has always been realitivly healthy and happy until the last week . Lethargic , loss of appetite and mouth gaping are all noticed . Not wanting to give up on her , but she’s not looking good . Any suggestions before I find reptile vet ?

I have a beared dragon male about 14 inches long got him in feb 2015 when he was about 5 or 6 inches big. Noticed last week a loss of appetite didn’t want to eat anything so we decided to get a bigger terririum for him no he’s in a 40 gallon tank but he started eating again and now I noticed that his front right limb he limps to walk. I’ve cked all the Temps there right on exact of 100° basking side and day time is at 80° I dust his crickets and mealworms and veggies with calcium plus d3 on every feeding. He basks for most of the day. Not sure what to do right now. If anyone has advise for me let me know thank u

I’ve had my lizard for about two months now. He has both a day light and a uvb. Sand, in the bottom of his tank (I heard is was ok to put in there with juveniles, but I also heard it was bad.) As of yesterday, he started going lethargic on me. Black beard. He tried to walk around, but doesn’t have the energy and wont use his back legs to help him. He has a loss of appetite, I’ve been trying to feed him through a syringe. His breathing looks labored, like, his sides are twitching.. well i think it’s him breathing. His middle is flat, rounded, not normal for him. usua;;y i feed him freeze dried crickets, some veggies, and mealworms.
could it be impaction? how would I fix that?

Wow, There are so many ill prepared and uninformed beardie owners out there. I feel so sorry for so many of these critters. People, PLEASE, Read up on Beardies and buy the appropriate resources before you bring them home. Don’t rescue one if you can’t help it. Don’t give them as gifts. If you can’t afford what a creature needs don’t take on the responsibility. Pets are expensive and totally dependent on you for all it’s needs. Please be thoughtful when you take responsibility for another creature’s life.

Please help 🙁
When I first purchased my beardies from Petco, they told me not to choose one of them because of the discoloring around the vent. They said that the dragons don’t usually live once they have that :,( I noticed it on one of my dragons and I’m scared she could die… it’s a yellow-ish, tan-ish discoloration only around the vent area. She is otherwise alert, active, eating (both veggies and crickets) and appears healthy, but I know lizards hide their symptoms. I have not found any info on it… what is it? Can I treat it until she can see a vet in a couple days? Any help would be appreciated.

Guys, I need help. My bearded drogon is like 9 months old, and never had a problem, but 2 days ago we noticed that he seems crooked, he seems to be moving his head only to one side and moves his head really weird, like if his head is stuck one way. What could this be? I have fed him with calcium and vitamins and his lights have all the UV rays? is he suffering from something or did he twiest his neck?

Hey!
My Bearded Dragon Izzy suddenly started acting weird. He was fine then an hour later I found he had thrown up his food and has turned very pale and black on his beard and is sleeping alot (just like described in Brumation times) but i wasn’t sure if the colour change was normal? My beardie has never gone through brumation before and he is over 10 years old now.
Does anyone know what might be happening? He hasn’t been aggressive/ hissing or showing discomfort, just being a lazy lizard yet pale and not his normal active self.

Thank you so much to anyone who answers! Or even if your Beardie is experiancing this too.

Not sure how helpful this information will be considering you posted over a month ago, but I’d be willing to say that it’s not stress due to your Beardie having no aggression issues. It’s probably just a sign of him having issues with what he’s been feed whether or not it was editable for him(which I assume it was editable because you’d be pretty experienced to have him for over 10 yrs), or if it was him just not liking the food or being spoiled into always eating another food, or it could just be a issue with him possibly getting choked on a piece of the food or indigestion. I don’t think it’s really a matter to worry about since the effects of whatever it was have probably passed by now if it was just one of the issues I listed above. Anyway, hope your Beardie lives a even longer and healthier life, and if this issue comes back up again either inspect for signs of it being any of the problems above or take him to a nearby reptile Veterinarian.

i have an old Beardie and he lives in a very red tinted environment but recently he started shedding and the new scales are really grey and look nothing like the environment. im wondering if i should be worried?

My bearded dragon has a white line going down her back and she is kinda loosing color to her sink. She eats normal, I give her baths, and she always has water in her home. I’m not sure what’s wrong her. Could someone please help me!?

I have a problem involving my Bearded Dragon’s genitalia. I keep him well feed and make sure he get’s plenty of activity. However recently I discovered that he has stubs or something that I don’t know what to make of coming out of the area near his tail and back legs. This is a link to a picture of my issue: http://postimg.org/image/ytd80dw1b/ What is this and how can it be dealt with. Please get back to me ASAP, your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Those are the femoral(Spelling) pores. Those are how males and females find each other when not in visible range, they secrete a scent that others can pick up on. Sometimes those become clogged, a vet would be my best suggestion.

!y bearded dragon was sleeping and I saw the skim above his eye was really dark and the rest of his skin was light. I took him out and the skin immediately was light agaoin. I didn’t know if she was sick but she is still alive for now.

My bearded dragon today started limping like his left foot didn’t work. He’s been lazy and not eating much. His terrarium broke On our three day rod trip move so he’s been out and about for a Couple days so I figured it may be the light. So I make shifted a box terrarium and put the lights on him to see if he would get better. It’s night now and he was sleeping and I heard him move and when I looked he had puked. I’m very worried someone please help me

Do not feed your cold blooded reptile without a heat source and UVB light source for digestion. I think throwing up the food was better than impactation due to an inability to digest food. I am assuming you have been feeding him without the light and heat being as he had something to throw up.

Its like draining your stomach of its enzymes and then attempting to eat food. You will not be able to digest anything, how would you feel.

Hello, I’ve had two bearded dragons for about 3-4 months, they were probably 2-3 months old when purchased, have not grown much since bought. one appears to be acting lethargic though. I noticed four days ago that his pinky on his right hand was very puffy. Three times fatter than his other fingers. I decided to see what it looked like a few days later, while paying attention to his habits. It spread to his palm. And his elbows on both arms have become enlarged, compared to the other dragon. This dragon is believed to be a bit older than the other because he has always been slightly bigger in size, and more dominant. They are both male gender, and i feed them once to twice a day about 20 crickets each. I take them out to get water because the crickets drown in it, and I do this every other day. My lizard also moves lethargically as if scrambling with broken legs… It’s very sad to watch and I’ve made an appointment to see a vet, but I’d like another opinion from this website just in case. They are also in a 20 gallon tank, and their hot side stays 90-100 degrees with their cool side at 80. Thank you – Shaina

I have a 2-year old bearded dragon that was doing well until this Summer, I began feeding it large numbers of Superworms. It ate voraciously, and pooped every few days. Mid summer, he stopped eating and stopped pooping, and got very lethargic. He didn’t poop or eat for over a month. I eventually added more heat to his cage, and he has been more alert and is eating again… but hasn’t pooped in maybe 3 months now. If it is impacted, what can I do about that? Other suggestions?

HELP….Norman is about a year old – Red Bearded Dragon – 40 gallon tank, funny personality. About 90-100 in the tank during the day – when I get home from work he’s already sleeping on his hammock…he seems to be up and about during the 9AM – 1PM hours. Eats strawberries and Romaine twice a week, Superworms every other day (2-3), Large crickets for the most part – all items are dusted w/calcium. I spray him with water, drop some on his nose, I’ve given him baths and rubbed his belly THIS DRAGON WON’T CRAP….it’s been almost a month!! He still eats, he looks for food, he’s alert when I take him out. When we first got him he was going almost every single day….NOW nothing!!! I don’t know what to do???????

Hi my name is Kobie and my bearded dragon is turning nine this year. Herfront left hand is all swallen and black there is a clear substance coming out of a hole in her hand can someone please tell me the cause of this or the name of this issue

hello i wounded if anyone could help me i have a female juvenile bearded dragon she don’t move much but she does catch crickets ect her self and sometimes go to the other side of her viv but to me she don’t seem very energetic when i get her out she just lies flat where ever i put her and another thing sh doesn’t seem to b drinking from her water bowl i drip water on her and she doesn’t seem to be interested pleaseeeee help

Most dragons do not recognize standing water, so a water bowl is mostly for the little humidity a dragon does need and they enjoy soaking sometimes. The Beardie actually absorbs water through the skin, so that part should be A okay as long as she has bowel movements and her eyes are not sunk in.

As for the lethargic ways, it was February when asking the question. Could be very likely that the little one was in brumation. Did you read the article? Have you read the comments?

My beardy has been acting strange for the past few weeks. He is always sitting under his little log house thing and every time I try to feed him he doesn’t move. He seems like he notices the crickets or worms, walks over to them and loses intrest. He also is not moving very much and us always sleeping. I have been giving him regular baths holding him more often putting the food right in front of him but I don’t get any progress. I really don’t want anything bad to happen to my best friend. Please help

Hi, really need some advice please brought a baby breaded dragon which is 3 1/2 inch beginning of the week and got a bigger 1 yesterday they seem to get on fine at the first then later that day my 7yr old noticed that the smaller 1 head was in the bigger 1s mouth and now the smaller 1 has got both eyes closed is this cause it is badly hurt.

Sharp teeth, soft skin of an eye.. Hmmm.. Very likely. Have you taken the little one to a vet. Also, what kinda of a genius would even do that? Let me put a small lizard with a bigger one and hope the bigger one doesn’t get hungry… I understand ones that are same soze together as youth and some put a male and females together but… Wow.. Does anyone even research or think?

I think my dragon is dying…very sad…he is acting very abnormal. He is not eating, and actually hasn’t eaten for a full 3 days. He is acting very slow and is barely breathing. I have given him baths and normally, he would try to get out and attempt to run up the walls. Now he just sits there and closes his eyes. He also seems very weak. I’m taking him to vet tomorrow, but if you can tell me what’s wrong, it would be greatly appreciated. 🙁

I have a bearded dragon hes about six dosent seem to be eating I give him fresh fruit n veg daily he used to see the crickets and run To the glass I have put him in a warm bath and gave him some tepid water with a syringe cause I don’t know weather he is drinking I’m keeping him warm in his viv but seems very lethargic compared to what he normally is

Any more info on the Dragon? Its kinda funny how people do not give quite enough information about the dragons.. Age is an important factor, Temps are an important factor. There are many factors missing.

For instance, my Dragon is about to be 6 months old. He finds veggies to be more of a hand fed item still, as young dragons they eat 70% protein, 30%veggies. With maturity the factors switch to 70veggie 30protein in their diet; most young dragons need the veggies to move, to look like live food. In the wild the leaves (or whatever veggie) would shake in the wind while they are young and learning to live.

If the temps are too low, the dragon will never be warm enough to get his body moving, too hot and he wont wanna leave the cool side. So.. Nothing we can really do to help. I see why the Original Poster just gave up replying… Homosapian are highly unintelligent… And to think I almost fussed at the OP for not helping more people..

I’m concerned about my bearded dragon. He is about 5 months old now and right below 12 inches long. He was doing a normal shed 2-3 weeks ago and everything was going fine. I was bathing him every 3 days to help, misting in the morning, doing everything I’ve ever read to help with the shedding process. The shedding then started to become bizarre. He has a random patch on the top of his head and also all around the right ear. Inside his right ear it is dark brown and does not look like his other ear. Almost looks like there is something inside his ear. Now when I noticed this inside his ear I did more research and all the reading I did said to NOT help remove it due to the fact it can cause permanent damage to him. I am just concerned because being a new reptile owner and him having random patches of skin on his head for more than 2 weeks does not seem normal. Please help to let me know if my bearded dragon is in danger of an infection or permanent damage!! Thanks

I not only BATHE my little Bond during shedding, but being as he is my child and best friend, I take the extra step and massage his whole body when I see the first signs of a shed starting. I, too, am just starting, I don’t pull the skin, but I am nearly 100% positive that shedding skin has to be itchy and annoying. I have had sunburns before and it seems they are highly similar.

If you are worried about the skin not coming off, dont PULL the skin, but rub him/her a bit more, not rough, get those molecules moving and separated though. I do a full body massage before every bath just to make sure Bond is relaxed. It makes him FAR more friendly during shedding periods and the imprint on the both of us is amazing.

They are living creatures, try to think if the ailment were on you, what would you do? We maybe completely different species but dragons and humans are both matter and energy and relate more than we realise.

If you had something stuck in your ear, do you just leave it? No… You go to the doctor.. Go see a vet is something is in your dragons ear. If its a false alarm, id rather spend 1000$ on nothing than let MY dragon stay with something in his ear canal and let infection set it. An infection that close to the centralized processing unit(the brain) and you wont have to worry for very long; your friend will suffer and eventually the energy will expire in exhaustion and move on.

Hey guys, my bearded dragon has been acting very lathergic lately and has been laying on her back. She’s a little over a year old, and has up to this point been very healthy and eaten a good diet of crickets, super worms, kale, and the occasional green pepper. We keep her tank to around 80-90 degrees on average and get her out and interact fairly often. Shes gotten baths and poops regularly. I have no clue what’s going on and any help would be very appreciated.

Well, when a creature needs 95-110°, at less than a year old they need about 105-115°, and you got your tank at 80-90°, I would not be surprised if the little one is malnurished; please get a check up at the nearest vet. They cannot properly digest food without high temps does anyone research????!!!! A whole year at those temps… You should be ashamed of yourself..

You people need to learn what you are “Playing With”; a living creature is not some toy that you throw away the instruction manual and “wing it”. Its a living breathing creature of creation.. What is wrong with you primitive primates, do you not value anythings life but your own? You don’t just adopt a living creature without knowing how to take care of it…

My beardy is 3 months old he was on ordinary sand but I have just changed him to the calcium sand and I don’t think he is happy on it . could this be harmful to him ? He has pretty much stopped eating and I’m getting worried he scratched around in it for ages as if trying to get rid of it . advice please

Please take the sand out. All loose substrates can be injested and cause impaction especially in the little ones. Just use paper towels until he is older. This will work great and he will get used to it. It is also very easy to clean.

Sand is NOT good for a dragon.. Australia is CLAY not sand.. OR…did you not look up the habitat from which your child originated from?

Did you research habits of a bearded dragon? They learn things through taste.. Which means his whole home is licking grounds.. Moist tongue+loose sand= sand in digestive track. Sand in digestion + Not Able to Digest Sand = Impactation (humans call it constipation) get that dragon to a vet ASAP and maybe find a more suitable human with intelligence to do some research before getting one; or maybe go spend these next few months RESEARCHING AND LEARNING BEFORE YOU KILL THAT CREATURE.

hello i have my dragon for 8 years never had a problem with him he would always be so active and watch tv he would wave to everyone he is a funny character …..but i realized i give him lettuce a lot romaine that is and for some reason last week he has been very non responsive and it seems he is having problems keeping himself up and moving he sleeps basically whole day and he wont even eat his crickets what soever also front of him mouth looks little swollen but i cant tell any ideas what could be wrong i would appericiate it and thank you MIke

I am unsure the Romaine Lettuce had anything to do with that. Lettuce is just pure water and will give no nutrition plus make very water poop. My best suggestion is a Vet asap. As an owner for 8 years, that should have been your FIRST CHOICE not a forum that hasnt had the ORIGINAL POSTER REPLY in almost a year.. Is the dragon 8 years old, or you?

HELP!!!!
My bearded dragon keeps opening her mouth, but its not always hot when she does. Like right when she woke up this morning, she opened her mouth…. that doesn’t seem normal. My other female beardie does not do this. Do you know what’s wrong, if so, what can I do?

Hello, I have a question. My female bearded dragon, Rocky, recently gave birth and all went well. No eggs burst inside her etc. Before hand she was scratching against the walls etc, and after she gave birth I figured it would stop. It hasn’t though and she seems stressed out and only calms when I take her out and hold her. Is she sick, in need of coverings across the glass, or is this just normal? Thanks in advance if anyone answers~

Hi, my bearded dragon is very lethargic and has recently become pretty pale. Also, the inside of her mouth has always been kind of yellow and I’m not sure if that’s healthy, as we bought her from a ” dodgy ” shop. Please reply soon as I don’t know if I have to take her to the vet or just change something about how I’m caring for her

Hi Everyone! I have a 7-8 month old bearded dragon, sadly he is only about 9 in. long and is very skinny. He eats fine (fed crickets and veggies twice a day) and loves his veggies too. He looks very dehydrated buy whenever I try and give him water or give him a bath, he won’t take it. I can’t take him to the vet because my mother won’t allow me and says that lizards don’t need to be taken to the vet, I don’t have enough money to take him either, I’m just very worried about him. If anyone could please help with ANYTHING, I would very greatly appreciate it! Thank you, to anyone who replies!!

If the eyes are sinking in, he could very well be dehydrated. If your mother wont help save the little one, see if he will eat some lettuce. I don’t normally suggest lettuce, but if the dragon takes veggies but not water, lettuce is the solid form of water. There could be much more going on.. A lizard may not need a vet, but this is an EXOTIC DRAGON and not your run of the mill catch another in the field kind of lizard.. If your mother doesn’t realise that, ensure she understands whatever happens badly fro here out is her fault

I have a fancy bearded dragon and i am not around over the weekend and i dont believe my parents feed him while im gone friday he seemed fine and i came back sunday and he is darkly colored very lethargic and will not eat his poop has meal worms in it no white or yellow just meal worms and a gooey looking substance and his head is making a ticking movement with his eyes closed and theres is a rusty color around his eyes im very concerned this is my first bearded dragon but i had a snake that did almost the same things and she died about a momth later do you know what i should do?

Hi my bearded dragon is about 1 1/2 years old and has her young sticking out and is very skinny. Her young also seems very slimy and she can not eat because all her food sticks to her round and she has to spit it out. I try to feed her and do not abuse her. I give her a bath for 1hr every other day. Please help me. I think she is dying. ??

Tongue and mouth? I am not quite sure I got what you were saying… Maybe go to a VET and try it in person. If your snake had the same thing and died shortly after, you posting this instead of GOING TO A VET IS ABUSE!!!!

You are probably lifting from the top instead of scooping from underneath and supporting body, head and tail. With that tail swinging like that, I would say its safe to bet, eventually he could damage his spine. Try to not treat his as a toy in a claw machine but as a living creature that has feelings. They like to be safe and secure, how do you feel more safe? Dangling by your neck or feet flat on the floor?

Black spots on bread sounds like Mold, which will kill even a human. Minus the fact DRAGONS CANT EAT BREAD OR ORANGES(no citric acid or wheat products..)

Or… You could have meant black spots on the head and orange on mouth just meant coloring.. In which case, you could get an necropsy(autopsy for animals) and find out? This is a page about sick, not dead dragons. If your aim was to help, shouldn’t you have gotten the vets views then relayed them here?

Did you just want some closure? I am very sorry your daughter passed away, I know it must be hard.. By the description sounds like she may have been suffering so atleast she is free if she was. Best of luck if you get a new one, definitely sanitize everything if you use the same tank and whatnot. It could have been a virus and watching a second pass will be more devastating

I recently adopted a nearly one year old beardie. She drags her limbs but the joints feel strong,so I started trying to do different things I read to ward off metabolic bone disease like supplements and correct lighting and so on. She seemed to be getting better but now suddenly she only eats maybe a worm or two a week and you can tell the weight loss on the base of her tail. She also seems to have lost some muscle in her legs. Her eyes are very bright and alert and she watches everything we do. Might not be related but she has a dark spot on her scales where they almost seem broken. I tried to take her to a vet but every single certified one is over three hours away. I’m at my wits end and sick with worry…I’m guessing the best thing to do would be a vet trip? Any help would be appreciated. =[

I have 3 baby bearded dragons they are 4 months old now. They are all in the same tank. Two of them are doing great, they are lively, running around, alert, eating well, everything is great. The third one however doesn’t look so good. She/He is the runt of the bunch and they picked on her in the beginning, they bit her/his tail so it’s very short, but she/he was doing fine for awhile. She/he was eating and running around like the rest of them. Recently she/he has become very sluggish, very thin, does appear to be eating much and just lays around with her/his eyes closed. When I take her/him out there’s very little movement as well. Doesn’t really open eyes or run around much. Most times looks dead, but will move if you touch her/his sides. I’m not sure what to do. Please help.

I am a new bearded dragon owner (of about 2 months). My little guy was doing great until this weekend when I noticed that his right eye was closed and not opening properly. I have bathed it in some water, and it sometimes opens up. Otherwise, I have checked sites about diet, lighting, etc. I am somewhat distressed right now so any helpful hints would be much appreciated.

My beardie is one that I rescued. I dont know his health or anything about his past. He was healthy when we got him and now he has turned orange and starting today he has stayed aggitated. His beard is black and the tip of his tail. He doesnt want to be touched and wont eat or drink.

I had a cup of water next to my bearded dragon to try and let him drink it then I remembered that I hadn’t feed him in a while so I got out his worms and dropped one in the water! I tried to get it but then he went after it then when I finally pushed him lightly and snatched it up I noticed clear slim under his beard and when I lifted his head I saw more I wiped it up of course but I don’t know what it means! Is he alright!

I just recently purchased my first bearded dragon about an week ago. I believe he has to be about 2months old. Now the first couple of days (3), he was eating and now he didn’t even care to eat.. all he does is sleep (very lazy might I add), he’ll basking for a couple of hours, I’ll place crickets into his enclosure and he won’t eat them. i don’t know if he’s sick or in brumation. Please help me..

My beardie just moved from a new home. He has dark stress marks and is sleeping differently. He has also gained a lot of weight. He is kinda lazy and might be shedding soon? Is anything wrong with him?

Hello, I’m hoping for some help or suggestions. Our dragon Stripey is about 7 years old. He’s normally been a good eater and very alert. We noticed today that he looked like he was trying to throw up and was making an odd sound.
Yet, nothing came up.
We put him in a warm bath and he pooped right away.

I let him soak for a while and he seemed to be breathing somewhat heavier than usual. I put him back in his home with some crickets to see if he was hungry but he did not take interest in them….that’s unusual for him.

My beardy seems to be eating less and less active but, I think it is just brumation . He also has a large black spot on his leg I only had him 2 months it doesn’t,t seem to come of even when he sheds. Does anybody know what it is

I have a 3-4 month old dragon (Reesh) he is super happy, active, eats well and loves to come out and play.
However he has a rather large neck, its not major, its not swollen, but everyone keeps saying he is fat and over weight. I really dont think he is, he justs has to grow into himself?
I have had 2 dragons before, Bruce and Stan, sadly both passed away now but got them both fully grown, so this whole baby dragon thing is very new to me!
Like i say he seems perfectly fine to me, but everyone saying he has a fat neck is starting to nag at me so thought i would ask the pros!
Cheers for any help 🙂

I believe my dragon is a girl and we got her 2 yrs ago, she hasn’t shown any signs of laying until now maybe and we are still questioning if she will because she hasn’t eaten in weeks, shes been in her warm rock and just stays there. she will scratch at the bedding witch is a mat with that looks like sand. we have moved her to a crate with play sand in it so maybe she will lay but she is actually freaking out. I’m wondering how long they can hold their eggs before laying them because I didn’t know she could have been trying to lay with out a male being present and didn’t know she needed to be able to dig or she will hold them and then they burst I’m wondering if they have already burst inside her and she needs the removed. I don’t want to spend the money just to find out that its nothing but I also don’t want to wait if they can do something for her. any suggestions?

My bearded isn’t eating on his own and just lays down away from the lamp. My lamp isn’t hot enough to reach the bottom of the cage only the top. Caiman started this about two days ago after I fed him crickets. Do you think I should bring him to a vet?

My bearded dragon, Spicë, lays down on her rock a lot with her head and body down on it. She doesn’t eat her fruits and veggies but she’ll eat the crickets and superworms. She rubs her snout a lot on her rock and she had black lines on her stomach so I can’t tell if it’s her entire belly that’s supposed to be a dark color or if she’s not fine. Are all these things normal? I’m a first time beardie owner so I don’t know what to watch out for without physical examples so I’m not sure what is and isn’t something that should be worrisome. I read in one of my books I bought that when they walk their body should be altogether lifted off the ground, does that mean her whole body has to be parallel to each other? I’d really love some help to make sure she’s fine and health, ive had her for two weeks now and these traits have stayed until now so I wanna know if these are all normal or not.

Im really scared. Im 11 and own a beardy and he done a wierd thing with his eye. I think you could sort of compare it to someone trrying to look into the back of their skull. I love my liazrd with all my heart and im scared and I really dont want to lose him. Does anyone have any advice or any diagnosis for it. I need help

Hi, My beardie is almost 10 now. He’s got muscle tremors in his back legs and stomach, the vet says it’s due to old age. Lately he has become lethargic, sleeping up against the back wall of his tank (like he always has). He stays in this postition for days unless he slumps to one side or I move him. He’s barely eating and drinking or going to the toilet. He is pale colour at the moment like when he’s happy. No dark beard or discolouration. He just had a major shed too but it took longer than usual. Hes acting like he’s brumating but it’s the middle of summer and quiet warm. Could this be a sign of him passing away soon?

Hi, I was wondering if you could consult on a bearded dragon who has been throwing up and not eating. Here’s the beta:
Age: 1 year give or take
Tank: 40 gal breeder
Day Temps: 95 hot, 80 cool.
Substrate: carpet
Diet: Normally about 10 crickets a day. Kale and other veggies. After she lost her appetite I switched greens to collard greens and dandelion greens along with yellow squash and green beans. I don’t think she’s really eaten any of this.

So about 3 weeks ago one night she threw up her salad. Didn’t think any thing of it, just thought maybe she had a cricket that was too big. About a week after that she stopped eating crickets. I took her to a vet last Monday. The couldn’t detect and impaction/obstruction. No signs of mouth rot. Did a stool sample and found pin worms. Prescribed a de-wormer for that which she seemed to be responding well to. Until this last night and this morning when she has vomited again a few times. Also I should note that she has been pooping – though with her lack of eating bowels movements have been irregular.

Hey There, I have two baby bearded dragons they used to be together both female but due to a fight they had one had to have his tail removed by a vet half way down i did notice they one used to sit on the smaller one (the one with the half tail now) when they was together and now it hasn’t grown as much as the other one at all. But ever since i had its tail removed i noticed its legs every now and again will go into some sort of paralysis and she has to drag them along but it only lasts 10-20 seconds normally, she is quite active and running around her new enclosure now she is on her own and eating healthy but what could this leg issue be?

So my bearded dragon is growing something weird near his rear end. It’s yellow and idk what it is, it’s not yellow fungus, because nothing else is yellow. His butt has like these yellow things growing out of it. Any suggestions?

I “rescued” a 3-4 year old bearded dragon from a family whose son was no longer caring for it. I grew up with one so I gladly took him. This is my first day with him and he looks a little ill. He has strange crust around his mouth, his mouth is gaping, and bubbles are coming out of one of his nostrils. Could this be respiratory infection? They have been feeding him mealworms but I have yet to see him eat. He has a sun lamp and night lamp on a timer, newspaper as substrate, plenty of water, huge tank- maybe 50 gallon? He’s been sitting on his perch under the sun lamp all day. I handled him for a little and he slept on my shoulder.

Hi! My beardy has been acting pretty sluggish lately, her poop has been watery and not consistent. Last night I fed her a couple crickets and this morning there is a dead cricket in a puddle of something.. I’m not sure if she puked or pooped … it did not digest at all!! I’m a little worried. She is 7 and I’m not sure what I should do. If someone could get back to me ASAP that would be great!! Thanks!!

I was with my fancy bearded dragon Cherry who is at least a year old and he ate a little piece of apple with skin on it, I know bearded dragons aren’t supposed to have apple skins, but I don’t know if it is harmful. I want to know if I should be concerned, it wasn’t a large piece, but I still worry for my little baby.
By the way the website is awesome.
-lizardcatchergirl

My bearded dragon Cherry has had this for a while now, but there are two patches of greenish yellow spots on him underside, he doesn’t seem to be ill, but I’m just wondering what it is, his cage is large and doesn’t contain sand. Thanks for reading this.

Hi, I have a bearded dragon it’s about 2 and some change I can’t tell you exactly because it’s a rescue when I got it’s been about a year since it’s had light and almost all the toes are deformed, I’m wondering if anyways has some info on weather its growth is stumped, if it has metabolic bone disease, and lastly if it will go into shock now that he’s getting all the lights he needs and proper nutrition and die?

Hey my bearded dragon just past away she didn’t ever eat her vegetables I would have to force feed her but that didn’t work because she kept spitting them out would that have something to do with her death? She also hadn’t shed in the longest time I gave her baths to help with it but she just wouldn’t shed and I don’t know why?

Hey my bearded dragon just past away she didn’t ever eat her vegetables I would have to force feed her but that didn’t work because she kept spitting them out would that have something to do with her death? She also hadn’t shed in the longest time I gave her baths to help with it but she just wouldn’t shed and I don’t know why?